As demand for recycled materials has grown, so has the number of plastic layer combinations and material recipes used in baby care and family care packaging. This has expanded the range of options available to customers, making it more important than ever to provide clear, consistent solutions that are easy to compare and select. That became the starting point for a project at our Flexibles site in Istanbul, Türkiye.
To make things simpler, R&D Manager Nesrin Demirsoy and Product Development Senior Specialist Saadet Kayışkıran began refining the range of recycled-content flexible packaging solutions, focusing on two types of recycled plastics: PCR (post-consumer recycled), which comes from used consumer products, and PIR (post-industrial recycled), which is made from manufacturing scrap fed back into production.
A clearer and more consistent offering
Instead of developing a new solution for every request, the team reviewed existing options and grouped them into standardized packaging structures with defined recycled-content levels and performance characteristics.
“We realized we needed a more structured approach,” says Nesrin.
For customers, this means a clearer and more consistent set of proven solutions to choose from, making it easier to identify options that meet both technical requirements and sustainability targets, without unnecessary variation.
“Now we can recommend solutions we already know work,” says Saadet.
By increasing the use of recycled materials in packaging where suitable, the team is helping advance the transition to a more circular economy by keeping materials in use for longer. The standardized approach also helps customers plan more reliably, as they can build established structures rather than navigating highly customized variations.
The work is ongoing through customer trials and qualification activities. The next step is to further scale standardized solutions and increase recycled content where it can be done responsibly, in close partnership with customers.
“It’s about finding solutions that work for our customers, our production processes, and the future,” says Nesrin.